Critics and collectors often note that the high track count leads to "horrific sound quality" or a "thin" audio profile due to the narrower grooves required to fit nearly an hour of music on a single platter.
Watch these reviews and retrospectives to see how this K-Tel classic stacks up against Bowie's other career-spanning compilations: K-tel Records "The Best of Bowie" commercial - 1980 YouTube · KtelClassics David Bowie - Diamond Dogs (K-Tel Best of... Edit) YouTube · Josh's Music Library David Bowie Albums Ranked Worst to Best (vinyl and cd) YouTube · Alan Stead Reviews David Bowie - What is missing from the 6 box sets? YouTube · Richard McCook David Bowie: Worst to Best | Albums Ranked YouTube · Classic Album Review
To fit 16 songs onto one disc, many tracks were significantly edited. For example, the K-Tel edit of "Diamond Dogs" removes the "Future Legend" intro and cuts nearly two minutes of the song. David Bowie - Best of K-Tel
Opinions vary from nostalgia for its curation to frustration over its technical flaws.
“This was the only K-Tel artist compilation that might appeal to me... it's lacking most of my absolute peak favorites, but this was still a very strong selection.” Post-Punk Monk · 3 years ago Critics and collectors often note that the high
Unlike previous hits collections, this set covers everything from "Space Oddity" (1969) to "Boys Keep Swinging" (1979) in roughly chronological order. It even features tracks from albums often overlooked by other compilations, such as The Man Who Sold the World .
The album is split between Bowie’s early glam/rock years on Side A and his soul/experimental phases on Side B. Side A (1969–1973) Side B (1974–1979) 1. Space Oddity 9. Diamond Dogs (Edit) 2. Life on Mars? 10. Young Americans 3. Starman 11. Fame (Edit) 4. Rock 'n' Roll Suicide 12. Golden Years (Edit) 5. John, I’m Only Dancing 13. TVC 15 (Edit) 6. The Jean Genie 14. Sound and Vision 7. Breaking Glass (Live/Stage version) 15. "Heroes" (Edit) 16. Boys Keep Swinging YouTube · Richard McCook David Bowie: Worst to
For many fans in the early '80s, this record was their first introduction to Bowie's diverse eras, from glam rock to the "Berlin Trilogy".